Glossary
Body condition score
A hands-on rating of how lean or fat a dog is on a 9-point scale, more reliable than weight alone, with 4 or 5 as ideal.
Also called: BCS, body condition scoring, dog weight chart, is my dog overweight, dog ideal weight
Body condition score, or BCS, rates a dog's body fat by sight and touch. A common vet scale runs from 1, emaciated, to 9, severely obese, with 4 or 5 ideal. A 5-point scale exists too, with 3 as ideal.
At an ideal weight you can feel the ribs under a thin layer of fat, without pressing hard. From above there is a visible waist, and from the side the belly tucks up behind the ribs. Ribs that are hard to feel and a rounded belly with no waist point to excess weight, while easily seen ribs, spine and hip bones suggest too thin.
Weight on a scale cannot tell you this, since a Greyhound and a Bulldog have very different builds. Ask your vet to score your dog at each visit and set a target.
Last reviewed November 8, 2026